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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Leo Moss-Type Doll by B. Formaz

Back in early January during a Ruby Lane sales event, I browsed the site for "black dolls" and stumbled upon what my eyes could not believe I was seeing in the tiny thumbnail image of the doll I initially recognized as a Leo Moss or Leo Moss-type. The price of less than $100 is why I could not believe what I was seeing as original Leo Moss dolls sell for several thousand dollars in today's market.

After enlarging the Ruby Lane image and reading the dolls' description, entitled black bisque doll, it became apparent that the doll was fashioned in the likeness of a Leo Moss doll and quite possibly, according to documented information about his dolls, was molded from an original sculpt. The indicator of this was the seller's description that the doll was signed "B. Formaz." (Oh-my-goodness, I thought.) This revelation took place during the wee-wee hours of the morning while still in bed, surfing the Internet with my Kindle Fire during an episode of insomnia. I immediately went to the doll room to get a better look at the images, to read the description, and to make the purchase on a safer device (my desktop computer) before going back to bed, happy about the find.

Leo Moss-type doll by B. Formaz

After the doll arrived, I photographed her, as usual, and entered the purchase information in my Doll Inventory Excel spread sheet as follows:

Under the heading, Other, I wrote:
B. Formaz is most likely Betty Formaz who, according to Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide 1820-1991, "brought Moss's dolls to the doll collecting world after having visited the home of Ruby Moss, daughter of Leo Moss. Betty purchased 39 of the Moss dolls and acquired most of the information on the artist." Described by Perkins as a collector and restorer, it is safely assumed that Formaz used one of those 39 original Leo Moss dolls to create the mold for my doll.

While my doll is a bisque and cloth rendition, Moss, a native of Macon, GA, and handyman by trade, sculpted his doll heads
of paper-mache without the use of molds during the late 1800s through early 1900s. He purchased manufactured
bodies from a New York toy supplier.

Moss used family members
and friends as subjects for his dolls. Research shows if a child cried
during the sculpting process, he included the tears. A twist to this
story is Moss added tears to child dolls after his wife left him and all,
except their youngest child, a baby, to run off with the NY toy
supplier!

Close-up of Hattie

I am uncertain what caused my doll's tears. The doll's original name also remains a mystery. What I do know is that it was made by the woman who brought Moss's dolls to the doll community. Initially I was going to name the doll Betty, but I kept hearing the name Hattie in my head after she arrived; so Hattie she is.

In searching the Internet for additional Leo Moss-type dolls made by Betty Formaz, I was able to find only one other. Described as a circa 1974 doll, it is not as distinctively Moss as my Hattie. This other doll did, however, win a first place ribbon at the United Federation of Doll Clubs' 25th Annual Exhibit in Miami, Florida and can be seen here.

I was not familiar with Leo-Moss type dolls. Thanks for the lesson. I love her mouth and her little double chin. Boy that insomnia can have a person spending all kinds of money, late at night, on the internet. Been there, done that.

Hattie is a cutie. I guess the artist expressed his hurt that his wife caused him by leaving him through his dolls. This was unfortunate for him, but very fortunate for collectors to have such great pieces. Good lesson post.

Either Moss expressed his sorrow through tears on dolls' faces or the true story may be that if a child cried when they sat for him to make their portrait doll, he incoporated the tears into the doll's sculpt.

Thanks for sharing your doll purchase and info about it. This is a cutie and a true collectors piece. I recently got a doll (as an early bday gift) and she is a beauty handcrafted by a woman on Etsy named Rose Dawn. This woman's work is awesome!

Happy early birthday Chynadoll. My eyes were playing tricks on me when I read your comment initially. The first time I thought I saw (as an early baby gift). Baby... she's having a baby! (I thought). Then I re-read it correctly.

That is some backstory about his wife leaving! I'm not a big looker of baby dolls so I probably missed it, but I've never seen a doll with tears on its face. I've seen commercials about "real eating, pooping babies that make crying sounds," but not tears on its face.

Are you familiar with the NEW "Starpath" dolls?!http://www.starpathdolls.comhttp://mydollbestfriend.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-york-toy-fair-feature-3-starpath.htmlhttp://www.dollation.com/dollipedia/brand/starpath-dollshttp://dollation.com/blog/feed-item/486786http://www.kidstuffpr.com/Clients/StarpathDolls.aspxhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a6drp6oOkginfo@starpathdolls.comlisa@kidstuffpr.comLisa Orman (608) 767-1102

These were just unveiled last month at "Toy Fair 2013".Love mult-ethnic doll lines! The AA girl looks A LOT like"Keisha" from "The Magic Attic Club"!

I was not familiar with the Starpath dolls until you shared the information about them. I love the concept and will try to feature them here on BlackDollCollecting after I have gathered additional information.

Disclaimer

Any links that I share or any blogs I write are for informational purposes only, and are not a warranty or guarantee, expressed or implied, that your experience with a vendor or company will be the same as mine. I am not affiliated with any of the companies whose dolls I buy or write about.